Nordic Music Days

Nordic Music Days celebrates new Nordic music and is the oldest ongoing collaboration among the Nordic countries. The festival, founded in 1888, has its origins in existing musical partnerships.

The festival showcases pioneering contemporary performances by Nordic composers - from Per Nørgård, who is considered the most prominent Danish composer after Carl Nielsen, to electronic musician Mads Emil Nielsen that works with basic sound sources.

At the festival, you can also experience Danish jazz with The Firebirds, take a rest at the Nordic Music Lounge or join a session of weekend yoga accompanied by relaxing Nordic music.

The Nordic Music Days take place from 28 September to 1 October at the Southbank Centre. The programme is free, with the exception of the Philharmonia Orchestra - Esa-Pekka Salonen: Sibelius concert on Thursday 28 September.

More information about the Danish composers:

Bent Sørensen - Before his breakthrough in the 80's, Bent Sørensen was already praised for his originality, imagination and technical ability. Bent Sørensen's first string quartet, Alman (1984) along with the other three known quartets, Adieu (1986), Angel's Music (1988) and Schreie und Melancholie (1994) are still known as his most important compositions. Sørensen received the prestigious Nordic Council Music Prize in 1995 and the Wilhelm Hansen Composer Prize in 1999. Other works by Sørensen include the full scale opera, Under the Sky (2003).

Christian Winther Christensen - A new wave of composers have swept across Europe, and Christensen is a good example of such a composer. In his composition, Christensen manages to create an almost ironic distance to some of the most established composers in the world such as Beethoven for example. Christensen has found his own musical language but at the same time he represents contemporary Danish composing.

Eyvind Gulbrandsen - A composition is not only music in the eyes of Eyvind Gulbrandsen. He combines installation, performance and concert into his composition, which often starts from scratch through close collaboration with his musicians. This involvement with the musicians and sometimes the audience throughout the creative process leads to the creation of very personal pieces. Which is something you can easily hear and feel.

Mads Emil Nielsen - Basic sound sources, short percussive and orchestral samples, real sounds and an amplification of machine produced errors. This is what electronic musician and composer Mads Emil Nielsen usually works with when creating a score. He has recently performed in Germany, Italy and Ukraine aswell as contributed to various theatre, film productions and exhibitions. With his creative and self made platform, Arbitrary, Mads Emil Nielsen is ready to play at Nordic Music Days.

Mette Nielsen - In January 2017, Mette Nielsen received the Axel Borup-Jørgensen Composer's Prize 2017 and her music has been played by ensembles like Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Adapter, Ensemble TM+, SCENATET, FIGURA Ensemble and Athelas Sinfonietta and many more. Mette Nielsen seperates herself from other composers by working with the so called imperfect unison. She focus parts of her composition on minute errors or differences, that then open up a space of their own, where wonderous microtones are made audible.

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